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			<h1>Coursera is creepy</h1>
			<p>Day 00227: Tuesday, 2015 October 20</p>
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<p>
	I decided to create an index file for my domain directory last night, but that quickly became complicated.
	The file name format for the page on a particular domain is &quot;{domain}xhtml&quot;, so there was no way to differentiate between the <code>index.xhtml</code> file that was in place to act as the index of the directory and the <code>index.xhtml</code> file that held information on the <code>index.</code> <abbr title="Top Level Domain">TLD</abbr> if I were somehow able to acquire it.
	As unlikely as that would be, I can&apos;t stand such ambiguity.
	Next, I considered moving the domain pages to <code>/en/domains/&gt;domain&gt;/index.xhtml</code>, but that would cause a directory name clash between the <code>.</code> directory that is itself the directory that contains it and the <code>//.</code> root domain.
	Another possibility would be to move the domain files from &quot;{domain}xhtml&quot; to &quot;{domain}<strong>.</strong>xhtml&quot;, which would clear up any meaningful ambiguity.
	File names would look silly with the double dot, but the <code>//index.</code> <abbr title="Top Level Domain">TLD</abbr> would be documented in the <code>index..xhtml</code> file and the root domain would be documented in the <code>..xhtml</code> file, leaving <code>index.xhtml</code> as the index file.
	At this point though, I realized that I wasn&apos;t going to be happy with any sort of regular index file.
	Technically, the <code>index.xhtml</code> file could then refer to some <code>//index</code> domain that was not fully-qualified.
	As stupid as this is, I would be happier leaving the file names without the double dot and just putting the index file outside the directory.
	Navigating to the directory won&apos;t get you anywhere on the current server, so if you want a domain list, it&apos;s at <a href="/en/a/domains.xhtml"><code>/en/a/domains.xhtml</code></a>.
</p>
<p>
	I was looking into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-configuration_networking">zero-configuration networking</a> again, and found something interesting on Wikipedia.
	Apple&apos;s implementation became an <abbr title="Internet Engineering Task Force">IETF</abbr> standard while Microsoft&apos;s implementation never did and is rarely used.
	I already knew Windows was performing <abbr title="multicast Domain Name System">mDNS</abbr> queries incorrectly because most of these queries were hitting the <abbr title="Internet service provider">ISP</abbr>&apos;s corrupt <abbr title="Domain Name System">DNS</abbr> servers, but this further backs up that knowledge.
</p>
<p>
	I managed to get help with the broken Coursera videos.
	I don&apos;t know why they won&apos;t play in-browser, but it seems that on the video page, there is a download option so the videos can be played locally.
	I probably missed it because the video pages tries to auto-play the videos.
	If there is a download option, it does not make sense to automatically start the streaming version because the user might not be choosing to view the videos in-browser.
	When it came time to take the quiz and submit the homework, the Coursera website was pretty insistent that I give it access to my webcam.
	Even if I <strong>*had*</strong> a webcam, I wouldn&apos;t give Coursera access.
	That would just be creepy.
	Coursera said that if I did not give it access to my webcam, it could not verify that I was the one doing the work, but I don&apos;t need that verification anyway.
	The other thing you have to do for verification is pay them a large sum.
	If the courses and coursework were under a free license, I would have no problem handing that money over, but as it is, I&apos;m just going to learn what I can without paying for proprietary work.
</p>
<p>
	One of my credit unions in Springfield sent me a new debit card that I did not ask for.
	As usual, it has my legal name on it, and as a result, I will not be spending with it.
	Merchants do not need to know who I am, that is just creepy as well.
	But if they are going to have a name down for me, it will be my real name, not my legal name, so when I have to spend from a card (such as over the Internet), the only card I will use is my Yst Dawson Discover card.
	As usual though, I will activate the card when I get a chance.
	I&apos;ll be headed back to Springfield on Friday, so I can walk into the credit union at that time.
	This will give me a chance to assert the fact that I do not live in the area and it would have been very nice to have some sort of Web-based activation system like Discover has.
	Not everyone has a telephone and there should be other options besides using a telephone to activate their cards from a distance.
</p>
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	My <a href="/a/canary.txt">canary</a> still sings the tune of freedom and transparency.
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